CLICK FOR HOPE | STRONG, COURAGEOUS, STUBBORN

What does being a Latina mean to you?

It means taking pride in my culture and values. It means that I will have to fight two times harder than most people to be successful in this life. It means having to deal with racism and standing up for myself. Being Latina means your decisions in life are always based around your family and how can your family be impacted or helped. Being Latina means I am strong, courageous, stubborn and I fight for what's right! Being Latina is who I am!

Share a struggle you have faced being a Latina.

Well I consider myself Afro-Latina because of the color of my skin, and that is the struggle I face everyday. Even within my own family, they don't understand the struggles and racism I sometimes face when I am in certain areas. Many people question if I am black or Indian or assume I am "mixed" until they ask. Usually my struggles are at its highest when I am in white areas. There are places that I go to and the white women hold their purses when I walk into the room. My daughter does gymnastics in a white neighborhood, and the only mom that talks to me is a mom from Ecuador. Then you have those white people who say stupid comments like "So where are you from,” or "Wow, is that like your real hair"? Its not much of what they say, but their tone and body language. If I go into a Mexican restaurant the people will start to talk to me in English when they were talking Spanish two minutes ago.

Share something you love about being a Latina?

I love everything about being Puerto Rican. The food, the culture, our heritage! I love that being Puerto Rican comes with being raised with respect. Our people are very strong people. Look what our people have endured from our land being stolen and ripped apart, natural disasters, poverty and much more! Yet, we are still here and strong and growing. We are very strong people. I love that I get to teach my daughter that she is Afro-Latina and teach her about our culture.

What do you identify as? Boricua Baby!! Puerto Rican

Where you born in the states? If not, could you share what your experience has been being an immigrant, and the process of becoming a US citizen, resident, etc.

Yes! I just want to make something clear, even if I was born in Puerto Rico I am not an immigrant!

How have you been able to celebrate and honor your american nationality, while embracing your heritage and culture?

I really don't consider myself to celebrate American nationality. America is not a place that celebrates my people, especially with our current administration. I am sure that people who know me may say that I am American, but I am Puerto Rican, period. I try to hold onto my heritage and my culture as much as possible. I educate myself and ask questions about culture. In order to understand who you are, you need to know where you come from. Its really sad that as more generations begin, our traditions and culture are slowly drifting away.

Do you speak spanish? Yes, but broken.

Have you experienced colorism, or not being fully accepted by your community?

Ugh YES!!!! This is something that I totally hate and despise with all my heart. I am too Black for my Hispanic friends and family and too Hispanic for my Black friends and family. Then I am just the crazy loud Hispanic to my white friends. Its ridiculous how some of my own family members will tell me that I am not Puerto Rican enough because I was not born on the Island like them. Its ridiculous! I remember my aunt saying she had her children purposely in Puerto Rico so no one can say her children are not Puerto Rican. How terrible that such horrible thinking can dictate someone's life.

Is there something else you'd like to say or add?

Puerto Ricans come from 3 different blood lines. We are a mix of Taíno Indians, Spaniards and Africans. That is why you can find Puerto Ricans to be different shades, sizes and some even have colored eyes. You can see how the Island of Puerto Rico represents these three different bloodlines in different areas of this beautiful Island. Even our language represents these three bloodlines. Not all Spanish is the same.

CLICK FOR HOPE | PROUD TO BE A CHICANA

What does being a Latina mean to you?

To me, being Latina means being proud to be specific about where I'm from, so it really means I'm proud to be a Chicana.

Share a struggle you have faced being a Latina.

Honestly, I never struggled with being Latina. I grew up all of my life with other Latinos. I went to a Latino schools. I grew up in Latino communities. I went to Latino churches... but I lived in the ghetto parts of Chicago which now they say "the hood." I lived in Little Village almost all my life but I never became what the streets are today. I grew up seeing what I never wanted to become, and I thank God for this. Then I lived in Mexico for 10 years.. what i can tell you is living in there was a struggle. The culture is so different than American Latinas.

Share something you love about being a Latina?

I love being a Latina, I have learned so much over the years. I’m a proud Mexican.

What do you identify as?

I’m half mexican and half Puerto Rican... but I’m more Mexican than anything.

Where you born in the states?: Yes, I was born and raised in Chicago..

How have you been able to celebrate and honor your American nationality, while embracing your heritage and culture?

Hahahahahahahaha now this has been a struggle because as a Latina you can celebrate both. I was able to live in two countries and try to celebrate both but it was hard. When I was living in Mexico, I was trying to live as an American and that was hard. I had to learn how to “be a Mexican”, and now that I came back to the U.S, it’s like I have to learn how to be an American Latina... but I am glad that I am able to do both!!!

Do you speak spanish?: Yes, fluently.

Have you experienced colorism, or not being fully accepted by your community? Like you're too dark, or too white, etc.

Latino communities always think I’m white until they see or hear my last name, or until they hear me speak Spanish. Since you know, white skin with curly hair can’t be Mexican?!? When I’m in a Mexican community they always say, “Oh yeah you’re Puerto Rican, you got that kinky hair!” I can never win!

CLICK FOR HOPE | CARRYING TWO PLATES

What does being a Latina mean to you?

Being Latina means having a family and a community that extends across the world. It is walking by a party and immediately being invited, even if you don't know who the party is for; it is having a shared smile or shared acknowledgement in spaces where you are not always welcomed; it's having kinship to someone before even knowing their story; it is having shared joys and fears, navigating in a country that is not always allowed to be "yours"; it is a huge hug from a Latina stranger, when you wear your "Latina Power" t-shirt; it is a sense of belonging.

Share a struggle you have faced being a Latina.

A struggle I have faced as a Latina is getting people to see me beyond stereotypes, as well as allowing me to take up space in circles that Latinas typically have not been welcomed or allowed to take up space in. Latinas are often categorized as "feisty" or "dramatic" or "sexual" based on stereotypes people have seen on TV. It is often difficult for people to see beyond initial impressions and actually accept me fully as a Latina woman, while also seeing that I have other things to offer beyond just a feisty personality, a loud laugh, or a body.

Share something you love about being a Latina?

I LOVE that we are fun, we are loving and loyal, we are strong and consistent. I love that being Latina is an automatic invite to the coolest club there is. It's like an open invitation to being a part of a long history and tradition of women who have stood up for themselves and their families, in the face of oppression and mistreatment; women who have made a way where there seemed to be no way; women who have fought for one another to make a better future.

What do you identify as? Brazilian-American

Do you speak Portuguese? I understand more than I speak. I also speak broken Spanish.

Where you born in the states? If not, could you share what your experience has been being an immigrant, and the process of becoming a US citizen, resident, etc.

Yes, I was born in the states!

How have you been able to celebrate and honor your american nationality, while embracing your heritage and culture?

Being mixed means that I get to celebrate being Latina as well as American, but only in measured ways and only in certain places. I read an essay once about a Chinese-American woman in NYC who said that being multiracial is like carrying two plates in your hand, "where I am, determines which one is the heaviest." This is what I feel every day. Sometimes, I really struggle in celebrating my American nationality, knowing the brutality of its history and the mistreatment of my own people at the hands of..my own people. Sometimes, I celebrate the freedom that this country represents across the world, and I am proud. Every day is a different lesson in how to celebrate being BOTH Brazilian and American without one outshining the other.

Have you experienced colorism, or not being fully accepted by your community? Like you're too dark, or too white, etc. Please share anything you'd like to share!

I have felt some non-acceptance due to being mixed. This has happened to me both as an American and as a Brazilian. I've always been "too dark for the white kids" and "too white for the dark kids" when it comes to being myself. It's something I've struggled with, based on others' perceptions of me, as well as overcoming my own demons with my own perceptions of myself. It has also been difficult being a Latina who does not speak Spanish fluently. I took it in high school and my mom speaks it as her 3rd (yes, 3rd!) language, but it still doesn't come natural for me. In college, I wanted to join the Latina fraternity, but didn't totally feel like it could be my thing, since Spanish isn't on the radar of languages for me. My family (and my country) speaks Portuguese, so that is what comes more naturally for me. All in all, I've often felt a little on the fringe, but truthfully, moving to Chicago and living here the last 4 years has really changed my feelings of loneliness and gave me such a huge Latino community to be a part of -- even if we don't always speak the same language :)

CLICK FOR HOPE | BEING LATINA IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PART OF ME

What does being a Latina mean to you?:

I believe that being Latina is the most beautiful part of me. Being Latina means to step out of your comfort zone and all the boundaries that are set for you. It means being stubborn, intelligent, and going after everything you want. Nothing can stop us.

Share a struggle you have faced being a Latina.:

Right now the hardest struggle I am facing being a Latina is being a Latina in corporate America. Specifically, in corporate finance. (I am one of the first people in my family to earn a college degree) I currently work for a Fortune 500 company and the team I work with is all white males. Not only am I the only female, but I am the only person of color in my team. I am the minority twice. It's incredibly hard not having anyone who looks like me. It can be discouraging but I find motivation by reminding myself that I am breaking glass ceilings every day. What I have slowly been learning is that when there is hard work and opportunity there is no glass ceiling. Being Latina doesn't discourage me, in empowers me. Now is the time for Latinas to make history and to bury the term "glass ceiling."

Share something you love about being a Latina?:

I love everything about being Latina! I'll name a few. First, our food is the best food in the world. Not only do we have the best food, but we get to eat it for free at our mama's or abuelita's house. Second, I have awesome role models which are my parents. They left everything they had in Mexico to come to a foreign country in hopes of giving my sister and I a better life. They are the perfect example that if you persevere and work hard then you can accomplish anything. They are the most selfless and caring people I know. I can only hope to be as loving, selfless, and hard working as they are. Third, our pride. My love for being Hispanic has been in me since I was a little girl. I learned to love who I am and never hold back for anybody. I learned to fight everyday for what I want and I thank my Hispanic roots for showing me how to be proud of myself and where I come from.

What do you identify as?: Mexican

Where you born in the states? If not, could you share what your experience has been being an immigrant, and the process of becoming a US citizen, resident, etc. (Share only what you are comfortable with):

I was born in California but my parents and my sister were born in Mexico. They came here illegally, they are not illegal anymore.

How have you been able to celebrate and honor your american nationality, while embracing your heritage and culture?:

I have many American friends and one of my favorite things is exposing them to my culture. I love educating them about Latino culture and showing them how beautiful it is. Whenever I have a chance I will take them to Mexican neighborhoods in Chicago, like Pilsen. I was blessed to be able to go to college and while I was in school I took a lot of Latin American classes so I still continue to use everything I learned in those classes in my everyday life. This knowledge I learned comes in handy when I hear people who are not Latino say ignorant things about my culture because I always correct them when I can.

Do you speak spanish?: Yes, fluently.

Have you experienced colorism, or not being fully accepted by your community? Like you're too dark, or too white, etc. Please share anything you'd like to share!:

I have experienced colorism my whole life. I am a dark skin Mexican and my whole life I have been know as the "preita" or the "morena" within my family. While growing up I'd watch novelas with my family and the main actress was always light skin and the dark skin one always was the maid, not an important character, or not represented at all. I started to believe that you were only considered to be a pretty Latina if you had light skin. That was not me. I was the morenita with puffy curly black hair. I felt ugly due to my dark skin color. I even always told my family I wanted to bleach my skin, although I never did. I'd cry at times because of how much I hated the color of my skin. My whole life I looked up to my sister who was very light skin. I always used to wish that I had her skin color. Dark skin in the Latino community is not considered beautiful. Dark skin is not portrayed in the Latino media the way it should be. The older I got, the more I began to embrace and love my skin color. Now I can proudly say that I am so proud to have my skin color. My skin color is beautiful. I want other young dark skin Latinas to feel confident in the skin that they’re in. We have to feel blessed to have the skin color that God gave us. I want to inspire other young Latinas to love their skin color even if the media, family, friends, or even strangers makes it seem like it's not pretty enough. We are enough and we are beautiful. I am proud to be the brown girl that I am.